Archive for the ‘Google Maps’ Category

The sign above the (Makers) Market, located at 3rd St. & 3rd Ave. in Gowanus.

By Stuart White

The people behind the Old American Can Factory—a Brooklyn artists’ community located in a converted cannery—are inviting New Yorkers to meet their maker.

Despite the phrase’s ominous overtones, the (Makers) Market’s goal is to put people directly in contact with the craftsmen that make the goods they buy.

“Really our criteria is enduring design, quality materials and the makers’ methods,” said Carrie Luckner-Zimmerman, who is in charge of market development. “We want the makers making at least 50% of each item, but I would say most of the makers here are making 90% of each item.”

“It’s about shopping local and meeting your maker,” she added.

The (Makers) Market website lists “overall social accountability” as one of it’s goals for its participants, and a quick overview of the market’s vendors reveals just that. From jewelry made from recycled metals, to stuffed animals made from secondhand sweaters, most of the goods on display are fabricated with sustainability in mind.

“A lot of the work seems very professional, which, to be honest, I didn’t expect,” she said. “It’s like stuff in a fancy boutique.”

Though it’s only in its second season—the first was last fall—the (Makers) Market is drawing artists and artisans from all over the city and state. To see some of the market’s wares and hear from the artists themselves, check out the audio slideshow below, then take a look at the interactive map to see where the artists hail from.

What’s interesting is that the market for other forms of analog devices, such as compact cassette tapes and 8-tracks, is non-existant, or relegated to “cult” status: experimental indie rock group Animal Collective is offering a free cassette of unreleased songs with every pre-order of a new shoe each member has designed for the Keep shoe company.

But the above numbers indicate that the vinyl market is hardly niche, or a blip on the radar. So why vinyl, and why now? With record companies struggling to keep up with the digital boom in the last decade the vinyl surge seems curious. How can an old form of technology thrive during a time when even MP3 players can become obsolete after a year or so of use?

“Vinyl sounds better than CD,” says Greg Winter, 29. “A well cared-for, clean vinyl on a good sound system will kick a CD’s ass any day.”

Winter is the impetus behind HPRS, formerly known as the Highland Park Record Sale, an underground record sale in Iselin, NJ. He began collecting vinyl about 15 years ago, but entered into the world of vinyl sales about eight years ago. He says the reason digital hasn’t buried analog is simply because the quality of sound is just not as impressive. To some, the compression process destroys the quality of the music.

Beyond that, though, Winter believes that vinyl appeals to a certain subset of music fan who cares about not only the music quality, but the music experience.

“There’s a magical quality about vinyl,” Winter says. “The feel of it, the warmth of it. Dropping a diamond tipped needle into a groove that plays music– you don’t have that engagement with a CD.”

More cynically, the question very well may not be “why is vinyl back,” but rather, “what reason does anyone have to continue to buy CDs?” In an age when music is so easy to consume digitally, the younger generations never became too attached to CDs, and older fans who never accepted them see no reason to buy them now. That vinyl has something to offer– a musical experience over a piece of plastic ephemera– seems to be the cause of its longevity. And with new hardware and software that lets you rip your vinyl to your hard drive, you can have your cake and eat it too: you can buy vinyl as a collector, and still have each song at your fingertips.

Below, see and hear more from Greg– including some of his stops along the way– and perhaps learn a little more about what it is that makes vinyl so special these days.(more…)

The New York Road Runners held their annual Jingle Bell Jog in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park this weekend. This seasonal race took 6,000+ runners on a four mile trek around the perimeter of the park, beginning on Center Drive and continuing counterclockwise. The sound of the season rang throughout PP as the participants ran with bells attached to their shoes. Some runners even dressed up as reindeer and a couple of Santa’s were spotted as well. Below is a slideshow which captures the sights and sounds of the event as well as an interactive map illustrating the race course.

The City of New York is working to update its water system and is undergoing serious construction in certain areas of Manhattan. One area that’s being torn apart is on Hudson Street in Tribeca. The project began in August 2010 is not expected to be complete until Winter 2015.

As a result, pedestrian access is limited, business owners are losing street visibility, parking garages are being blocked, parking is limited, an M20 bus stop was lost and traffic to and from the Holland Tunnel is perpetually congested.

The project is currently in phase 2 and construction is running from Laight Street to Hubert Street. In a recent CB1 meeting, residents and business owners joined to raise awareness of the project and it’s effects. The DDC’s (Department of Design and Construction) urges CB1 residents to reach out to Karen Butler (hudsonstprojectccl@gmail.com), the project community liaison, if you have any questions or concerns. You can also check here for updates.

Housing projects in New York City were initially built to replace slums. Some might say, however, that the “projects” eventually led to concentrated poverty, a large contributor to urban decay. Others say that projects have higher crime rates and violence. Whatever the case may be the projects certainly have a larger police presence than any other housing units in the city, creating friction between residents and law enforcement.

Residents have also often complained of deplorable living conditions that may even rival slums many projects were built to replace. The role of public housing in concentrated poverty was felt particularly hard in the South Bronx in the wake of the fires that ravaged the community during the 1970s. Now, the South Bronx is being rebuilt and the signs are everywhere. There are new businesses, new residents and new places of residence as well.

These new residences however, aren’t just for the poor. To combat concentrated poverty, new housing is aimed at residents from mixed-incomes. Take a look at a few of these developments in the South Bronx.

Police are looking for a group of men in connection with a string of crimes against wireless phone stores in Brooklyn over the last three months. One robbery resulted in the injury of a store employee. Altogether, 8 locations were hit for a total of 52 stolen phones and one stolen laptop, police say.

Click below for a map of locations hit, and a description of the crimes.(more…)

Tribeca is a neighborhood rich with families, restaurants, parks and things to do. It is also becoming increasingly more rich with construction sites. Residents have expressed frustration with the never ending sidewalks covered in scaffolding, lack of parking spaces due to construction machines and heightened noise.

Here is a map of the latest list of construction sites and expected dates on completion. In the interim… avoid these areas if you’re looking for parking, a quiet walking path or if you’re superstitious and don’t like walking under ladders.

Crime is on the rise in the Red Hook and Carroll Gardens neighborhoods. A string of assaults, robberies, and grand larcenies plagued the area over the past two weeks, causing cops in the 76th precinct to beef up patrols and initiate a more aggressive strategy to combat crime. Below is a map illustrating some of the problems this Brooklyn community is facing.

People say Sunset Park is changing. Long the home of working-class immigrants—first Scandinavian, then Hispanic and now Chinese—the neighborhood has seen a serious spike in the price of homes in the last four years, leading residents to believe that gentrification is around the corner. Some people, like bar owner Miguel Cintron, have already been forced out of apartments because of rising rent.

While the cost of multi-family homes in the neighborhood has gone up by about 12%, single-family home prices have shot up by nearly 40% according to the NYC Department of Finance, an amazing spike considering the fact that the national average has declined by about 19% over roughly the same period. The map below shows the locations of a few homes for sale in the area and some price comparisons between 2005 and the present.

Posted in Google Maps | Comments Off on Rising Housing Prices May Signal the End of an Era

Reporting a crime story with google map allows to have the big picture of it. It is easier to understand what happened where, and also helpful to circumscribe the field of research for the reporter.

With the map, we see that in this case, the shooting, the hospital where the first victim was transported and the place of the arrest are very close to each other. Thus, the field of research was not too wide for the reporter.